King Abdullah chairs Cabinet session

January 18, 2010

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz began the Cabinet session in Riyadh today by reviewing his latest contacts with foreign leaders and officials. Over the past few days, the King held talks with several visiting dignitaries, including Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad; Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamed Najib bin Abdul Razak; Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik; Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi; Jordanian Health Minister Nayef Al-Fayez; U.S. National Security Advisor General James Jones; and Head of the British Secret Intelligence Service Sir John Sawers. King Abdullah also received telephone calls from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Guinea-Bissau’s President Malam Bacai.

The Cabinet offered the Kingdom’s condolences to the people of Haiti over last week's devastating earthquake.

On the economic front, the Cabinet expressed satisfaction over a recent report by Fitch Ratings, a global ratings agency, confirming the strength of the Saudi economy and praising the government’s management of its foreign investments and currency reserves. The Cabinet noted that wise fiscal and monetary policies have shielded the Kingdom from the global financial crisis.

Turning to other agenda items, the Cabinet authorized the Foreign Minister to sign a draft agreement on diplomatic and consular cooperation with Qatar; approved a memorandum of understanding on political consultation and coordination with Qatar; approved the establishment of diplomatic relations with Cambodia; approved a cooperation agreement with Turkey in the field of youth and sports; and approved a number of measures encouraging students to pursue higher education.

The Cabinet appointed Suleiman Al-Jurayysh as Undersecretary of the Madinah Governorate (15th rank) and approved the transfer of Abdulaziz Al-Mulaifi from Director General of Administrative and Financial Affairs (14th rank) to Administrative Advisor (14th rank) at the Ministry of Interior.